Lots of pictures in this post, starting off with lunch on the trip: sushi from Fusian, a.k.a. the reason we even went to Cincinnati in the first place.

(There’s a piece missing because I forgot to take a picture before I ate one. But at least I remembered to take one at all!)

Fusian is an Ohio-based independent chain restaurant that operates rather like a Subway, Qdoba, or Chipotle — except with sushi (yay!). You go down the line and pick what you want, starting with a nori wrap vs. a soy wrap, continuing to your choice of rice (white or brown), protein (including raw, cooked, and tofu options), and whatever toppings you want to stuff in there. Then they cut it into 10 pieces and add whatever sauces you want. The sushi in the picture, if I remember correctly, was half-salmon, half-tuna (both raw), with every topping (mostly veggies, plus cream cheese) minus cucumbers (because they’re gross), and with wasabi mayo on top. It was very very tasty.

So basically they have fast, customizable sushi at really decent prices. It’s amazing.

I first went to Fusian when they opened a location in Dayton while I happened to be in town. I’ve been a few times since, in Dayton and Cincinnati. They also have locations in Columbus, but unfortunately nothing in Kentucky yet. Come to Louisville, guys!! (Please!)

So after having our sushi lunch, we (my mom, my niece, and I) decided to be cultured. My mom and I had been talking about going to Ikea and Jungle Jim’s while we were there (which I mentioned before), but I had looked up stuff to do in Cincinnati and found out that there was a cool Japanese art exhibit going on at the Cincinnati Art Museum, and a butterfly show thing at the nearby Krohn Conservatory. So we did that instead. Culture! And bugs!

Okay, it’s not exactly wild, but it is the first self-seeded baby sunflower I’ve spotted this year. Isn’t it cute? They start out so tiny but they get so big so fast.

Of course, it’s in a completely inopportune spot — in the middle of a lawn area (I say “lawn” ’cause that obviously ain’t grass), too far from anything to be staked to as it gets bigger, and on the south side of the tiny orange rosebush, which means if I let this grow here it’ll eventually block sun from the roses.

So, it’ll have to get moved. (It’s the first one of the year, and I hate pulling out plants anyway, so yes, it’s definitely getting moved, not done away with.) I’ve transplanted plenty of baby sunflowers before and they always do fine. I wonder what the flowers on this one will look like!

I found this little guy yesterday (I think?) but today I found some more surprises in the front yard. The sad, clearance-sale hostas I planted way too late last year made a comeback!

She’s an almost-5-year-old black German Shepherd Dog (with lots of white dustings, and in this picture a stray white hair stuck to her nose), and she is very cute. You will be seeing more of her in future posts.

As promised, here are some pics of growing things — and also a few cats, because they like the nice weather, too.

First up is Logan, who at almost 15 is the oldest of the pets (or varmints, as I like to call them). He also is very into catnip, so this is his favorite place during his brief trips outside: